


Together Nothing is Impossible

by confessorlove



Category: Hunger Games (2012), Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-15
Updated: 2013-04-15
Packaged: 2017-12-08 16:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confessorlove/pseuds/confessorlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on the way to the Capitol for the 74th annual Hunger Games with Gale, Katniss has a very important question to ask him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together Nothing is Impossible

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to my friend who prompted me _Gale volunteers for Peeta to protect Katniss. Gale and Katniss scene in the train on the way to the Capitol._ Obviously this is AU, also this is my first time writing THG fic so hopefully I didn’t fail too horribly.

The state of shock that had settled over both of them made the quiet almost suffocating. Hearing Prim’s name called was one thing but Gale…he never deserved this. The odds weren’t in his favor and it had been proven today. She could barely wrap her mind around why he would step up as tribute to protect Peeta Mellark. She knew Gale was a good person but why? Now they were in this together, until the bitter end, but who was left to look after her family now? They could both die just as easily as they stepped into this place. The extravagance of the tribute train didn’t even seem to faze her as she sat there pondering their fate. They were two and only one of them could come out of this alive. Katniss knew in her heart that the odds weren’t in their favor. District Twelve hadn’t had a victor in a long time but they would try. The thought of either of them going home without the other was something that weighed heavily on her mind but she pushed them away. Now wasn’t the time to let emotions cloud her judgment. They both needed to be strong if they were going to survive.

Effie had disappeared in search of their mentor and Katniss was glad for it. Her chipper voice was grating on her last nerve and she needed the quiet. It was just the two of them now, just like it had always been. Her eyes closed for a moment and she could picture the forest out beyond the fence where they would hunt. That had been their place for what seemed like a lifetime but that lifetime was over. “Gale?” Her voice was soft and tentative as she spoke but still Katniss refused to open her eyes. The illusion of peace and tranquility brought on my memories of their world was too special to lose.

“Yeah, Catnip?”

She didn’t want his voice to break the illusion but it did. Easily she could have held on to the unraveling threads but she let them slip through her fingers just as her eyes opened once more. Reality seemed to wash over her and tightness gripped her heart but there was nothing that could be done. This was their reality. Her eyes sought out his and she bit down on the inside of her cheek. The slight pain was enough to distract her from this life, if only for a moment. “Why did you volunteer? You didn’t have to. This was your last reaping. You would have had a life.” It was so hard to keep herself from breaking down then and there. Gale had seen her at her weakest before. He’s seen her vulnerable, afraid, sad, and heartbroken but this was different. They were along in the train car but she still felt as though the eyes of millions were upon them. She couldn’t let those walls come crumbling down now. Effie or Haymitch could come in at any time and she wouldn’t let them see her weak. That could put a bullseye on her back and she wasn’t ready to die.

The look of slight surprise on Gale’s face wasn’t exactly what she had been expecting. It almost seemed as if he had known that question was coming and it was only a matter of time. She shouldn’t have been surprised. He knew her, after all. There were times when Katniss could swear he knew her better than she knew herself. “A life? Working in the mines isn’t a life, Katniss. I thought it would have been obvious,” he replied after a moment of thought. In that moment she knew. She knew exactly why he volunteered and it made her heart ache with gratitude but at the same time she wanted to scream at him for being so foolish. Now they could both die. “Someone’s gotta look out for you in there. I couldn’t let you go in alone.”

With the lump in her throat making it hard for her to speak, Katniss merely nodded. She could barely believe that he would do that. There was so much at risk and he threw the dice anyway just to protect her. Her gaze dropped down to her lap and she picked at a loose thread on her skirt. What could she even say to him now? There was no way to thank him and part of her longed to tell him how stupid he was for risking it all for her, but she couldn’t. Katniss couldn’t bring herself to mad at him now. This was Gale. He was her friend and he did things impulsively, without thinking, and yet she loved him anyway. Try as she might Katniss felt her hold on her emotions slipping as she swallowed hard and unshed tears gathered in her eyes. Her chest heaved with a deep breath once the lump in her throat seemed to shrink back to a manageable size and her gaze turned back up to meet his blue eyes. “Thank you.” The words seemed pitiful but they were all she could offer him.

He reached out and placed his hand over hers then. It was big, rough, and callused but not for the first time Katniss noticed how hers seemed to fit so perfectly beneath his. If anyone could help her through this it was Gale, but the bitter pain of knowing only one of them could walk out of this alive was still too fresh. Each time the thought crossed her mind it felt as though salt had been poured in yet another open wound until it was too painful to think of anything else. She blocked it away as best she could because of that. There was no room for the pain if they were going to survive. He offered her a small smile and she felt herself relax slightly. “That’s what friends are for, Catnip.”

They both flinched at the sound of the door to the train car opening once again and Gale squeezed her hand once before pulling it back. Emotions were a weakness in the games and they both knew that. The corners of her lips twitched upwards in a slight smile of gratitude before Haymitch drunkenly stumbled into the car. If this was their mentor than she knew they had their work cut out for them, but with Gale at her side they could do anything. She had to believe that. Anything else was unimaginable.


End file.
